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Winchester widower cycles 100 miles in memory of his wife

A WINCHESTER man who cycled nearly 100 miles in memory of his late wife has said no amount of rain was going to stop him fundraising for charity.

Nigel Gilbert took part in the London Surrey 100 to raise money for Breast Cancer Care inspired by his partner of 22 years after she lost her battle with the disease five years ago.

Though Lesley Gilbert wasn’t directly supported by the charity Mr Gilbert said he has a huge amount of respect for the work they do and so has spent the last seven months furiously fundraising.

The mechanic joined 24,000 other cyclists at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park earlier this month in a bid to raise as much money as he could.

Mr and Mrs Gilbert had two daughters, Allisia, 21, and Cherise, 23, before breast cancer claimed the life of the former Parchment Street hairdresser in August 2009 after a ten-year battle.

Mrs Gilbert owned Rembrandt hair design before giving it up to make way for chemotherapy.

Now Mr Gilbert has spoken of his ordeal and said despite the bad weather nothing was going to stand in his way.

“I was riding in memory of my late wife Lesley, and no hurricane was going to stop me finishing,” he said.

“Unfortunately the weather took a turn for the worse when the remnants of Hurricane Bertha hit the south and organisers shortened the ride by 14 miles, taking out Box and Leith hills for safety reasons.

“Although the ride was shorter, it was made all the more hard by the torrential rain, flooding and the strong winds.”

Mr Gilbert arrived at the finish line outside the gates of Buckingham Palace having completed the 86 mile ride in 5 hours and 33 minutes.

He has beaten his £2,000 target and raised £2,850 from donations raised by family and friends.

“Yes I was soaked to the bone and exhausted by the continual wind,” he added.

“But the sun appeared for the last ten miles and the extreme weather was nothing compared to what a breast cancer sufferer has to endure.

“I would like to thank all who donated and say that this money will go to the continual support that the team provide to sufferers all over the country.”

To donate to his cause visit the website justgiving.com/nigel-gilbert1/.

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